"Well, you said you wanted to help the helpless again and there you go. A thank you would be nice," Spike rolled his eyes. Angel sighed. "Spike, not now. We have a young woman that needs our help," He leaned over his desk, holding a button. "Harmony, send my team in here," 'Right away boss.'
"She seemed to take a liking to you though," Angel noted, motioning towards a sleeping Bella, her head on his lap. Spike looked down thoughtfully, before looking back at Angel. "Jealous?" He teased. Angel rolled his eyes.
"She can stay in here for the night until we can get a room settled for her." Spike frowned, glancing at Angel. "You still think about it don't you?" He asked softly, noticing Angel's demeanor. "What?" Angel asked, looking away. "About Fred. What we did," Angel glanced at Spike, a frown on his face. "Yeah, I wonder if we did the right thing," Spike hummed, moving out from under Bella.
He looked out the window, frowning as well. "We lost a lot of people that day, but we saved a hell of a lot more. Illyria would've torn this world apart, we both know that. Besides, she seems pretty happy with Wesley, and we took care of that Knox guy. She wasn't happy about it at first, but you said it yourself, you let it happen to Cordelia, and you wouldn't let it happen again, and you didn't. So, don't go moping around too much,"
Angel's office doors opened, Gunn, Wesley, Fred, and Lorne walked into the room, looking at Angel. "Sorry to call so late. We have a problem. Her name is Isabella Swan, she's 23, from a place called Forks, Washington. Gunn, I need you to find me everything you can about her, and a family called The Cullen's. Carlisle Cullen. Wes, find me all you can about Cold Ones and mating. Fred, when Bella wakes, take a blood sample," Angel paused as Spike moved away from the window glaring at him. "What?" He sighed.
"She's not a bloody science experiment. What do you need her blood for?" Angel raised a brow. "We need to see if there is any venom in her blood. Just a precaution Spike. Lorne, read her when she wakes," Spike gave him an incredulous look, and Angel couldn't help but chuckle. "You know we are primary targets. I believe her, and so do you. We still need to be on our toes," Angel reminded.
Spike glowered at him but looked to Lorne. "No offense there, but she's gonna freak when she sees you," Lorne rolled his eyes, "Nothing I'm not used to. I must say, I am having a hard time reading her. Like there's a blockage," Both vampires tilted their head in response. "That's not a good thing," Angel commented. "Eh, for her it is. She's got some mechanism that's blocking me. She is somehow protecting herself. Neat one you boys picked up here,"
Angel decided to order takeout for when Bella woke, and Lorne sat in the office, reading a magazine. Both vampires were talking amongst themselves, thinking over the next plan. They had never heard of gifted Cold Ones which is why it was imperative Gunn found something on them, and quickly.
Angel and Spike both stopped their quiet chit chat, looking at Bella. Lorne, noticing the silence, followed their line of sight, sitting down the magazine. "Oh boy," He muttered, plugging his ears with his fingers. Her terrified scream pierced the room with vigor, humans, and demons paused in surprise.
Lorne dropped to his knees, groaning in pain, her 'song' was just out of place. Spike was shaking her awake within seconds, her screaming abruptly cutting off. Her breathing was shaky, her wide eyes taking in Spike. She swallowed, shuddering, allowing Spike to pull her head to his shoulder. "It's okay pet," He soothed, smoothing down her hair. Angel helped Lorne up, looking at Bella as she started crying. "Angel," Lorne groaned, shaking his head. "No need to read her. That scream said everything. She's telling the truth. It's what they did to her. However she got here, she's in good hands now,"
Spike looked to Lorne in confusion. "What do you mean?" Lorne frowned, gesturing his hand towards her. "This family did a real number on her, emotionally. They created a bond with her. It's like losing a family member. They promised her their all and then left her behind. She's been left in a world, a dangerous one, alone."
Spike looked down at Bella who was slowly composing herself. She pulled away, sniffing. "I'm sorry guys," She apologized. "Don't. You didn't ask for this," Angel responded. She smiled sadly at him, and Angel felt that stir in his un-beating heart, looking down at someone that actually needed his help. Someone that wasn't evil or had an ulterior motive. She was the helpless.
He smiled in return, thinking faintly of Cordelia. "I ordered you something, you should eat. My team is working on finding this family, and Victoria. It just doesn't make sense. Why would they leave you with a vampire looking for you? Did he say anything to you when he left?"
Her eyes glazed over in thought, her pale face stark against the night. Spike and Angel glanced at each other as she didn't say anything. What did they do to you? Angel thought. Lorne frowned, his heart going out to her. Lorne walked forward, a gentle smile on his face, hoping to soothe her fear of the likes of him. She glanced at him warily, smiling shyly in return. He kneeled in front of her, taking her hand in his. "He broke you," He responded, his red eyes piercing hers.
Bella frowned, blinking furiously.
"Oh honey. You don't have to run anymore. You don't have to be afraid. You can still love and be happy. He just wasn't your place. My name is Lorne, and I'm what you would call an anagogic demon. I read auras and I can sometimes see the future. Yours is a little hard to read, but you've found your place in life,"
Bella tilted her head, looking down at his hand. "I don't, I don't understand. My place? What does that mean?" Lorne just smiled. "You'll see one day," He stood, and motioned to Spike. "Come with me for a moment vampire," Spike's brows rows, but he complied, following Lorne outside of Angel's office.
"You're the uh 'poufy one' as Spike called you. I can't thank you enough," Angel chuckled, but sat down across from her. "It's what I do. We'll take care of Victoria, but I hope to talk to this family because if we can't find her, they could. Um, you can sleep in here until we get you a room set up. There's not many, but this isn't exactly the safest place, so you'll probably be in a suite close to mine, or Spike's, whichever you prefer," Bella nodded, "He's uh, very…." She railed off, a light blush coating her cheeks. "Special? Yeah, he'll annoy you soon enough," Bella snorted, a small laugh leaving her body.
"You're very different from them. So I'm assuming, and correct me if I'm wrong here, you do sleep correct? Burn in the sun? Do you turn into a bat?" Angel laughed, shaking his head. "Where do you people get this from? Yes, I sleep, and not in a coffin, and there's no animal I turn into. " Bella nodded with a small hum.
"So why? What makes you, and Spike I guess, different? Why aren't you two out there on the streets terrorizing people? What made you want to be good?" Angel leaned back in the chair, holding his hands in his lap. "I wasn't always like this. Nor was I ever where I am now. It is true, vampires have no soul, no matter what type of species they are. I had no soul, and I did terrible things. As punishment, I was given a soul, and I felt all the guilt. All the pain and suffering. I decided to atone. I wanted to make up for what I did. So, I did. Before all this, I had friends, and we started this agency, helping people," He paused, looking at her.
"Things happened. I made mistakes, I lost people very dear to me. Then I came here. I believe that I can do something here, on a greater scale, but evil keeps coming. You've given me hope that I can still do just that," She could see the heavy weight on his shoulders and reached over hesitantly to touch his hand. "You're still alive and protecting people regardless of what you've done. That's something to be proud of…Angel. Why is your name Angel?"
Angel chuckled, "Story for another time. Your food is here," She looked around the room, seeing nothing, jumping slightly at the knock on the door. "Delivery for Mr. Angel," Angel stood, and opened the door, grabbing the bag. The aroma wafted towards Bella, making her stomach growl. He handed her the bag, nodding her way. "I'll be back in a moment. Spike should be back shortly. I'd appreciate it if you stayed in here. You're not in any danger, but it might be a bit overwhelming. We get very busy at night,"
Bella nodded in response, watching him as he left, closing the large doors behind him. "Harmony, no one goes in my office unless they're one of mine, got it?" She chuckled, hearing a 'yeah boss!' in reply.
Bella dug into her meal, savoring every bite, glancing out of the large window every so often. Once full, she set the tray on the chair, moving to the window, glancing down at the city. She gazed at her reflection. Her hair seemed dull, bags under her eyes. She looked like hell. "Beautiful isn't it?" She jumped, turning her head in Spike's direction. "I didn't hear you, or...see you for that matter. No reflection then," She turned back at the window, eyeing Spike out of the corner of her eye. "It's different," She replied.
Spike leaned his arm on the window, looking down at the city lights. "Sure is," He responded softly. "I thought it would be safe here. The bright sun, no monsters, but I guess L.A. has its dark side. Thank you for saving my life. I'd probably be dead right now," She turned away from the window, biting her lip in thought.
His touch was cool to her skin, and Bella closed her eyes briefly at the sensation. "No need to thank me. The job isn't over." Bella nodded at that, looking down at his hand which was resting against her shoulder. A knock sounded at the door, and it was pushed open, an older woman poking her head in, a kind smile on her face as she looked at Bella.
"You're awake. I'm Fred," The moment they shook hands, Bella knew they'd be good friends. "Bella, but you…already know that," Fred chuckled and sat her down. "Yeah, you're safe here. Don't let the monsters bother ya'. Angel wanted me to take a blood sample, so if you don't mind…" Bella held her hand out, glancing at Spike. "Does blood not bother you?"
Spike shook his head. "Nah. I would say you smell quite….delicious, but nothing I'd go crazy for," Bella glanced at Fred who smiled. "Trust me, Bella, Angel and Spike are two vampires who don't exactly spell normal," Bella chuckled. "So I see," Feeling the bandage on her arm, Bella glanced down at it. "All done," Bella frowned as Fred shook her blood in the vile.
"Are you alright?" Fred asked concerned. Bella nodded, swallowing heavily. "I'm fine, just not a fan of…" Fred's eyes widened, and she encased the vile in her fist. "Oh! I'm sorry. I'll get you something for the stomach." Bella waved her off, smiling a little. "No, no, it'll pass. I'll like some water though," Spike grabs her hand, helping her stand up. "Come on, we have a vending machine somewhere in here," Fred watches as the two leave, following behind for z moment before heading back to the lab.
Bella stuck close to Spike, looking around curiously at the people around her. "You said this place is an evil law firm, right? So all these people are….evil?" Spike nodded. "Mhm, evilest blokes you'll ever meet. They've sold their souls to this place," Bella shifted closer to him as a few monsters walked around. "But Angel…isn't evil though he works in one?" Spike nodded, turning a corner. "The irony. Here we go. Anything else you want?" Bella pointed to the chocolate, a smile on her face. "I didn't know they had those here. They are so good,"
She bounced on her feet as the vending machine slowly turned her chocolate, frowning as it stopped on the edge. "Bloody hell," Spike muttered, tapping against the glass. "It's fine. I'll take my water," Spike shook his head. "No, you want the chocolate. The chocolate we will get," Bella jumped as he punched it, the glass cracking around his fist. He snagged the chocolate and a few other items before turning to her with a smile. "Here you go," Bella took the candy with a soft laugh.
"That's coming out of your pay," Angel spoke, coming from up the hall. He gave Bella a gentle smile. "I don't work here, so….yeah. Just getting our little guest something sweet," Angel looked at the machine and back to their treats, well her treats. "I see. Bella, we found something,"
Bella's heart stuttered in her chest as she glanced up at him. "The Cullen's or Victoria?" His silence was enough for her to understand that whatever he found was big. She looked to the floor, before meeting his eyes once again.
She followed behind him, their presence comforting for the moment. They finally entered his office once again, Spike shutting the door behind her. Bella noticed a few new faces, smiling at them. "This is my team. Fred and Lorne you've already met, Charles Gunn, and Wesley. Gunn is in charge of tracking Victoria and the Cullen's. Wesley has been looking into a few things about gifted vampires. This is new territory for us. We don't get many Cold One's here. At all really," Angel explained.
They gave her kind smiles and Bella had to remember that these were people who in some shape or form willingly do this kind of work. Gunn handed her a folder, pointing to a map of the city.
"This is where we are. This is where there has been unusual activity. Spike found you here. Any chance you were within this radius a few weeks ago?" Bella swallowed, looking at the little landmarks Gunn had specifically drawn for her. Each spike of activity was circled. Bella chewed on her lip, so hard she drew blood.
"Easy love," Spike cajoled, standing next to her. "I uh, I stayed at that motel once. I ate dinner there at that diner. I switched back and forth there.." Bella pointed to each section feeling her gut twist and tug.
Gunn shared a look with Angel before glancing back at Bella. "Victoria isn't the only thing that's been following you. Coincidently, something has been following her. Not sure if it's this family, but while she's hunting you, something's hunting her,"
Bella's brow furrowed as she looked back at the papers. She flipped through the stack, surprised to find images of the Cullen's. They looked more recent, and Bella should've known Edward had lied when he said Los Angeles. That wasn't why she was here of course, but it felt like a safe haven at first. She wasn't surprised to see pictures of them surrounded by mountains and snow. "Alaska?" She asked, glancing up at Gunn who nodded.
She flipped some more, surprised as it seemed like time reversed, just not their features. She could spot the difference in clothing and the decrease in numbers of her ex-family.
"Of course we don't have pictures that far back, but we suspect he's been a vampire since the 1600s." Bella nodded. "Yeah, I remember the uh…he was changed in 1663. Could it be them? Tracking her or something?" She asked curiously. Gunn shrugged. "We don't know. We should assume it's not good. Angel, do you want me to set up a system for Victoria, have someone monitor her movements?" Before Angel could say anything, Wesley cleared his throat.
"I really don't think that'll do anything. I found quite a lot about a vampire's trait, and surprisingly enough, Wolfram & Hart has a record of every species of vampire and their individual powers. The leader, Carlisle, was born in 1640, changed in 1663 as Bella said. I can find everything on every one of them. Alice, the short one, has no memory of her sire correct?" Bella nodded, intrigued.
"She was changed by a staff member in the mental institution she was held in. His name was Gerald. No last name. Victoria for this matter is not very detailed, but her gift is very clear. It's like intuition. You can have someone watch her all you want but she'll know. She'll sense it. The only way she'd willingly allow herself to be vulnerable is to catch Bella. The mate of a vampire is strong, and they are out for blood. Once, and if avenged, they seek death. She's on a mission."
Bella gave the folders back to Gunn, glancing at Wesley. "I didn't kill James. Emmett and Jasper did, why doesn't she go after them?" It was a good question and made them all curious. "If someone killed someone I loved, had a part in it, I'd kill all parties involved," Bella couldn't hold back her shiver at Wesley's statement, somehow finding that he was serious. "Maybe she'll go after you first, them last. Vampires, Cold Ones are different. I think no matter how she gets her revenge it'll be sufficient,"
"Are regular vampires strong enough to kill a Cold One?" She asked, glancing at Spike. He raised a brow at her, holding his hand to his chest. "I'm offended you'd ask that question pet. We most bloody well are," She smiled, the two holding eye contact for what felt like an eternity.
Angel frowned, his eyes shooting towards the Lobby.
What? When did she become a major…yes sir.
Angel narrowed his eyes, moving around the pair to his office doors. They opened not even a second later to Eve who stopped short at seeing Angel. "What are you doing here?" He asked, grabbing her arm. Eve just smiled at him and ignored him, walking around him. "Heard you've got a vampire on your hands," She spoke, breaking Bella from her trance in ogling and maybe drooling. She could feel the tension in the room thicken as this small woman walked up to her, and knew that no matter what went down, she wasn't one to be trusted.
Angel narrowed his eyes at Eve, looking down at the cell phone in his hands before pocketing it.
AN: So now you kind of see where we are. I might follow some of the episodes, and you see that I have kept Fred alive. Should Bella have a power? Anything with her shield? What is Eve up to?